It is desirable to be able simultaneously to cut a number of precisely sized wafers from an ingot of silicon, sapphire, quartz, or similar hard material. Such precision cutting, especially of thin wafers, can best be achieved if the blades are exactly spaced and under the same tension; but that is a difficult goal to achieve, especially with wire blades which easily deflect. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,079,908, 3,168,087, 3,263,670 and 3,326,071 disclose cutting machines using multiple rectangular blades, and in practice wire blades have been used in corresponding commercially available slicing machines, such as the Model 686 Wafering Machine of Varian Associates, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,092,972 which is here incorporated by reference.